ASK ALEX Each month Dr Alex Melrose answers readers’ pet related issues. email yours to: alex@vetcare.net.nz We are buying a Leonberger puppy from a reputable breeder. They have recently informed us that one puppy (out of five) in the litter has been found to have Neospora. The mother has also just been blood tested and found to be infected. The puppies are now four weeks old. They will all be blood tested at six weeks. They have been told that only 20% of the litter is usually affected. Our main query is if the blood tests of the remaining puppies (or at least some of them) are found to be negative will that guarantee that they will not get the infection from that particular source? i.e. their mother. And will this then mean they are fit and healthy for us to add to our family? Hope you can help with this as I understand it is somewhat rare.
Q:
You are looking at a beautiful large breed of dog. The current vet thinking on this rare, peculiar and potentially very serious protozoal infection identifies these key points. The proportion of pups afflicted can vary from a quarter to three quarters of each litter, possibly significantly more than the one in five suggested above. The effects of this infection can be very serious with severe neurological problems and even death in some instances.
A:
Treatment is also difficult and prolonged and will never remove the cystic life stage from the host dog, which will then carry the organism for life although a relapse of symptoms and contagiousness is very rare. Rather than cure any medications given are to treat symptoms and shorten the period of shedding the protozoa to other dogs. The mother can infect the pups trans-placentally (the likely route here) with the pups born infected and unfortunately should not be used for breeding again as she will potentially do so again to future litters.
FUN AND GAMES WITH THE FUR-KIDS! WHEN I WAS A FEARLESS AND AGILE CHILD, DANGER WAS AN abstract concept. Now that I am cautious and less nimble, I have developed a protective streak. I watch the fur and feather children around me, exploring their environment, with my heart in my mouth. An easy way to tire out an energetic pooch is to teach them to fetch. At the Animal Emergency Centre we commonly treat dogs with painful injuries to the delicate tissues in their mouths or throats, caused by sticks. Injuries can occur when the stick is caught mid-flight, or if it hits the ground, digging in, and the dog runs on to it with an open mouth. Ouch! Continue the catapulting fun, but use balls throwers or frisbees. When it comes to balls, size matters! Small balls can get lodged in the throat and the worst are solid rubber balls. Dogs find them exciting to chase, and they are often precisely the size to cause an airway obstruction. Surely cats are too fastidious and smart to get into such mischief? Unfortunately not! With their love of pouncing, chasing and ‘killing’ their toys, cats often swallow small items which can cause intestinal blockages. Long thin objects can cut through the intestinal wall, leading to peritonitis (severe abdominal infection). Ribbons, string, wool and pieces of fabric are exciting toys for young and playful cats, but because they are potentially dangerous, it’s best to keep them safely hidden away! PN ANIMAL EMERGENCY CENTRE, 97 Carrington Road, Mt Albert, T: 09 849 2121 www.animalemergency.co.nz
The bitch is unlikely to be infectious at this point, so the pups negative at six weeks are probably clear. However, there are isolated reports of hosts remaining infectious and shedding the organism for months so I wouldn’t be 100% sure this wasn’t still going on. Please keep me posted on the blood results and decisions you make. (DR ALEX MELROSE, BVSC MRCVS) PN VETCARE GREY LYNN, 408 Great North Road T: 09 361 3500 www.vetcare.net.nz
IS THIS YOUR CAT? BRUNO IS BECOMING ALMOST A PERMANENT FIXTURE IN MY HOME and I don’t know if he’s been abandoned or is just a big wanderer. If he’s yours, please get in contact before I adopt him. E: Christy.weightman@gmail.com; or M: 0276 111 430. PN
118 PONSONBY NEWS+ November 2012
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